Thursday
by Late Night Iridescence
Summary: Ace and Luffy visit High Town once a week, every week for seven years. Sabo/Ace/Luffy AU


Fandom: One Piece

Pairing: Sabo/Ace/Luffy

Word Count: 2870

Rating: NC-17 (read the warnings, please)

Summary: Ace and Luffy visit High Town once a week, every week for seven years. AU

**Warning**: Features underage Luffy (14) and porn. Spoilers for all of the Sabo chapters, but especially place in an AU where the Tenryubito don't make an appearance until much later.

It was midnight in the Goa Kingdom, and a crisp breeze carried the stench of Grey Terminal even to the High Town, where Sabo rested on the ledge of his open window as he did every night, but especially on Thursdays. It wasn't just for the breeze, though trash still smelled of _home_; tonight, Ace and Luffy were due for a visit.

Once a week, every week for seven years. No weather or wound would keep them away.

So every Thursday his brothers would climb the walls of Goa and straight through his permanently open window, where Sabo would stuff them full of the scraps he'd nicked from his own table the last six days, slightly stale but still much finer food than the two could scavenge or kill for themselves. The last few years Luffy's appetite had become an impossible thing; he devoured his own portion and most of Ace's, and Sabo would frown at the protrusion of ribs over hard muscle and not say anything. Brothers or not, Sabo, who ate richly three times a day and sometimes so much he could hardly move for the solid lump of opulence in his gut, had no right.

The very first time had been unexpected; three months after turning his back on the only people who'd ever loved him, Sabo had woken to sharp rapping and an overeager smash of fist against glass, harshly whispered insults and a mumbled apology, and two messy heads of black hair, ready to steal him away from this life he'd never wanted.

He'd refused to let them drag him away, and the resulting row had brought guards storming down the hall. Ace was willing to stay and fight their way out. Only Luffy's tearful pleading and a few well aimed blows on Sabo's part convinced Ace that leaving was the right choice. The only choice.

And they'd stayed away for twenty one days. Sabo counted with pebbles stolen from the royal gardens, torn between the painful desire to see his sworn brothers once more and the hope that they'd let alone for good and damn the betrayed sting of his heart, because having them close enough to touch shattered his porcelain resolve. Running away was not an option his father would permit again. If Ace and Luffy were caught a second time, no amount of begging would save them. His freedom was a small price to pay to protect his most precious people.

The second time was strained, three weeks barely long enough for Ace's temper to smolder low enough to risk another attempt. Ace huffed and scowled and refused to enter the room. It was Luffy who enveloped Sabo in a bone crushing hug full of regret and understanding both; Ace may have years on Luffy, but their littlest brother'd had something they never did: a role model, someone who'd loved and teased and passed on life lessons, the solid foundation of Luffy's dreams and determination. Shanks, the pirate Luffy spoke of so fondly.

As the boy chattered happily about their latest misadventure, an elaborate prank involving Dadan's underwear and a herd of crocodiles, one of Luffy's tiny, calloused hands wrapped in Sabo's own - a thing he'd never have allowed on the outside, but was now a great comfort to them both - Ace edged further inside the room, eventually joining them on the bed. They'd sat like that, shoulder to shoulder, until Luffy began to snore.

They came the next week, and the next, and the next, without asking him to leave again. Sabo relaxed.

Years passed in this manner, the Ds sneaking into his room and Sabo occasionally venturing out with them to run wild in the town or the dump or the jungle. He was careful to return long before sunset.

They remained that way, racing through alleys and undergrowth alike, until Sabo and Ace turned sixteen and became aware of each other in a decidedly non-brotherly fashion. The two of them alone while Luffy hunted for something to sake his growing hunger; a sparring session dissolving into rough, sweaty wrestling; an accidental catch of lips ending in a frenzied press of naked flesh, fueled by testosterone and mounting frustration. It had been awkward afterwards, a harried dash to redress and clean up before their innocent third returned. Sabo had been unable to meet Ace's eyes, inexplicably guilty.

It was one of those things that happened but they never talked about. Then Luffy celebrated his fourteenth and, one day, the boy barged in on them too desperate to stop. When they'd finished and caught their breath, it was to find Luffy slumped against the wall of their tree house, fingers curled around the swell in his shorts. He'd stared at them, _god_, so young and so uncertain of his reception that Ace reacted in what Sabo later assumed was pure instinct (though what kind, he couldn't say. Certainly not that of a big brother.) One hand flicked open Luffy's fly, reaching in to squeeze the hard on inside. Luffy cried out, a sound bright with surprised pleasure. Sabo's own dick began to fill.

In less than a minute Luffy convulsed, clutching at Ace's bare shoulders, flushed cheeks wet with tears the boy was unable to hold back because it was _just that good_. Sabo's renewed erection throbbed in sympathetic ecstasy; he new all about Ace's talented hands. Ace himself was hard and leaking against Luffy's thigh, hips rolling in tiny spasms of partially contained thrusts. Luffy was coming around, so Sabo crawled over and collapsed on his baby brother's other side. His eyes cracked open, and Sabo allowed Luffy a deeper breath before stealing his first kiss. It was sloppy and inexperienced but Luffy responded shamelessly to every touch and Sabo wondered for a moment if it wasn't better than kissing Ace, who dominated sex like he did sparring.

There was a sharp tug on his hair. Thinking it was Luffy needing air, Sabo pulled away only to see Ace smirking mischievously and his semen splattered hand taking the place of Sabo's mouth. He watched in awe as Ace fed his wet fingers between Luffy's lips, as the boy sucked happily away, licking until Ace's hand was clean. There were a great many things Sabo could think of to teach a boy with no gag reflex, but it was still Luffy's first time; for now, they had next Thursday. Instead Ace wrapped his damp fingers around Luffy's dick and jerked him with quick stokes.

Luffy moaned their names when he wasn't begging or giggling loudly, a very Luffy thing to do, in Sabo's opinion, until Ace occupied his mouth with other things and Sabo found himself drawn to a tiny, pink nub that tightened when he blew on it. He briefly considered the mechanics of Luffy's abnormal body, then bit down gently. That earned him a twitch. A harder one had Luffy's jagged nails digging for purchase in the nape of his neck. Clamping his teeth around the nipple and _tugging_ tore a scream from the younger boy's throat as his muscles clamed up and he shuddered full body in the most impressive orgasm Sabo had witnessed yet.

He'd been so focused on their newest playmate that Sabo's own end took him by surprise. His cock had found it's way to the soft crease where thigh meet hip, damp with sweat and perfect to rub against, which he'd been doing without a thought. He bit Luffy's arm where it was draped around his shoulders as he spent himself on Luffy's stomach. The boy had already conked out by the time Ace stroked off on his chest. Sabo observed the mess they'd made and exchanged sheepish grins with his friend. Ace volunteered his shirt to wipe Luffy clean.

The next week Luffy was lively and curious, hands and mouth quick to explore, any hint of hesitation gone with the wind. Sabo raised an eyebrow, asking in the way of silent communication _'Just what have you done to our cute little brother?'_ Ace leered back and stuck a hand between his legs. Sabo promptly forgot to feel left out. That had been three weeks ago.

Now, Sabo waited impatiently for his brothers to appear as usual. With the Tenryubito around, security had been dialed up to eleven and Sabo hoped with fists clenched that the guards would be lax in their duties in this most uneventful Kingdom of Goa. He certainly couldn't depend on the Ds to be _careful_.

A soft laugh floated up to greet him. Bracing his hands on the window frame, Sabo leaned out for a look, but nearly fell to his death as his vision was filled with Luffy's custom face breaking grin. He slipped from his perch to help haul them inside. Then he did what he hadn't done in seven years: closed the window and locked it shut.

Ace and Luffy were immediately aware of the significance (as the lock clicked Luffy jumped as if at a gunshot) but held their silence. Giving him time to explain. How deep their trust ran, even as he sealed their single escape route.

This was the end of it.

Without a word, Sabo planted one hand on each of his brothers chests, feeling their hearts beat strong and steady under his palms, and shoved. Now he had two confused teens sprawled across his overstuffed feather bed, and he wedged a knee between their thighs to keep them there. Luffy blinked at him, disoriented. A frown stretched Ace's mouth, with half a mind to push him away, Sabo was sure. So Sabo kissed Ace to keep him quiet. Then he kissed Luffy, just because.

That night he and Ace shared Luffy, spread the boy open across their laps and slid their dicks inside a space that seemed much too small but stretched easily to welcome them both (_Rubber freak_ Sabo whispered fondly, breathless and half out his mind.) Luffy sighed sweetly and murmured at the fullness, quieted his moans with Ace's throat or Sabo's lips, his warm mouth nothing compared to the heat that clenched tightly around them, his cock snug against Ace's in the perfect intimacy of Luffy's body. Sabo buried his face in the arch of Luffy's neck and pretended it was pleasure he was crying from.

"Now will you tell us what this is about?" Ace grunted against Sabo's damp shoulder a good while later. "There are more guards than the usual ragtag band of coppers."

Sabo stared at the ceiling and exhaled. Ace sure knew how to ruin the afterglow, but once the situation wormed itself back into his brain, he couldn't shake free. He rolled a dazed Luffy off his chest with regret, instantly missing the boy's warmth, and dragged his trousers over his hips (and noticed a mouth shaped bruise just on the bone.)

He dropped onto a mattress corner. The time had come to confess the incident (or The Apocalypse, as Sabo secretly dubbed it) that had occurred afternoon two days prior.

When the Tenryubito had arrived.

Sabo unstuck his throat long enough to gasp "I'm getting married." Then the burn at the back of his eyes forced him to shut his mouth. Tight.

"What?" It was such a supremely quiet whisper Sabo would have missed it if only he wasn't holding his breath. He hoped for a moment that Ace would think before reacting, but that has never been a D's strong suit, and the next bit came at a yell that was nearly a shriek. "WHAT?"

The whip crack word had Luffy jerking awake, confused and worried by his brother's shout. "Why're you yellin'?"

"This son of a bitch is getting married!"

"Oh," Luffy sighed, face crumpling. Sabo would punch the girl responsible for this whole mess to wipe that misery away. "Can't we still see you? Maybe not as often, but we don't mind, right Ace?" Luffy's lips edged up in the first fake smile Sabo had ever seen on them. He hated himself for it.

Ace was snarling for breath, angrier than Sabo had seen him since before Luffy, when Ace had a death wish and the raw knuckles to prove it. There was only one answer he'd accept. It wasn't the once Sabo could give, and Ace knew it. "No," he whispered. "Because I'm leaving." The core of this whole problem.

There was a beat of dead silence, then it was Luffy's turn to cry out. "_Why?_"

Sabo ignored the black look Ace was drilling through his skull and grasped Luffy's wet face between his hands. "You knew we'd separate eventually." Not this way, though. Sabo had always expected the sea to carry them away - Ace, Luffy, yes, but not him, that dream was dead - but also that the sea would bring them together again. Over and over. Instead, he was moving to a place no pirate could set foot.

It was difficult to calm Luffy when he felt so worn down and helpless.

"But not like this! Where are you going? Is it far? Will we ever see you again?"

_Not if you know what's good for you. And you don't._

"Maybe someday." It was a half-hearted lie; his Tenryubito fiancé could be bored of him by next week and dump him on some island. At the very least he'd be free. But it didn't ring true. He had a gut feeling he'd be wearing a damned chain for the rest of his life.

"You can't get out of it?" Luffy was grabbing at straws now and it hurt Sabo to have reduced the unflappable boy to roundabout begging. God, if only he could.

"This goes beyond the promise I made my parents. The people involved are above the law. It's out of my hands," Sabo said. All true, but pathetically flimsy in the wake of Luffy's quivering lips, or Ace's hunched back. Sabo got that most of Ace's anger stemmed from jealously. He'd been restless and longing for the open sea since he'd turned seventeen, and now Sabo was going first, no matter the circumstances. It was only his unwillingness to leave Luffy on his own that kept Ace on this godforsaken island. And soon, very soon, Luffy would realize and bully Ace into buying a boat and getting the hell out. Because he loved Ace. Because he'd rather be alone then let his big brother suffer.

Perhaps this was an opportunity. Sabo would disappear and Ace would shake off the lingering obligation and guilt for a friend who had already given up. Luffy would wave his brother off with a smile and a promise. Return to his tiny village to wait for the day he would follow. Inevitable.

It was also the day Luffy would try to save him. But not even Luffy could fight his way free of the Tenryubito's all encompassing reach. Crossing them was paramount to death.

Sabo dug deep, dragged out the steel that lead him to Grey Terminal, pushed him off cliffs, held his ground before beasts who would and could claw out his intestines for a light snack. That same steel pried him away from his brothers sleeping bodies and back to this wretched city every Thursday night. Gathered the customary food in a blanket, shoved it in Luffy's arms. Shoved Luffy out the window. Made room for Ace to follow.

"Sabo wai-"

"We can't be brothers anymore." Had words ever hurt so much? Sabo thought his throat might be bleeding. Like vomiting glass.

Luffy sunk his teeth into his bottom lip in a last ditch effort to keep the tears at bay. It was a lackadaisical attempt; now he was hurt and crying, a flood of tears and snot dirtying his chin. He fled across the rooftops, clinging to the half-forgotten bundle of food, wailing to wake the dead and the snoozing guards both. Ace didn't immediately take off after him. Sabo might have pressed him if that fierce anger hadn't been still staining his cheeks, eyes seething with contempt and the staunch desire for an explanation.

Ace wasn't Luffy, aware of the world instead of floating through his own fragment of it. Eventually he'd hear rumors, or pick up a stray newspaper. His explanation would be splashed across the front page.

"You'll see soon enough," he muttered, and drew the curtains in Ace's face. The best friend Sabo'd ever had lingered for a full minute despite the danger, breath faltering and ragged, before vanishing into the night.

For good.

Sabo was left alone with nothing but the smell of their sex for company. A small piece of himself, the part that would remain a ten year old punk, screamed that he was an idiot. To go after them. To get down on his fucking knees and ask for forgiveness. The rest was content that his brothers would see their dreams come true while Sabo watched from a distance, cheering silently from enemy shores.

A guard hammered on his locked door. "Master Sabo! Are you alright?"

His heart was sore and split in two, but Sabo squared his shoulders and threw open the door, ready to face his own future.

"I'm fine," he said, and smiled.

* * *

A/N - Kinda took me by surprise, because my first instinct was _who the hell is that guy, getting in the way of the epic brotherly love? _of which I admit there was none of at that point. (I was expecting Ace to be a jerk. I was not expecting him to bitch smack Luffy off a bridge.) By the next chapter my thoughts were a little kinder, as Sabo helped saved Luffy and dragged Ace out of situation that would probably have killed him. Then 585 came out and I was cooing over him as fervently as I was Luffy and , this fic stemmed from my mad wishing for Sabo to live, even if that means being married off to a Tenryubito. Kinda rushed to finish before spoilers/the new chapter comes out because my muse would vanish in a screaming wreck if there's a dead Sabo will eventually be a sequel, so just hold tight.

I'm gonna finish the next chapter of Utopia before that, though. Or I'll want to rewrite the first one and include Sabo as a crew member. Maybe I'll turn this into my own 'verse…


End file.
